Gold Medal

The Gold Medal is presented in the Spring to a member of the Society, without age limitation, for contributions to acoustics. The first Gold Medal was presented in 1954, on the occasion of the Society’s Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Celebration, and biennially until 1980. It is now an annual award.

1957 – Harvey Fletcher

1961 – Georg von Békésy – For his deft proficiency in the experimental art which has laid open the ear and resolved the mysteries of its inner workings.

1965 – Hallowell Davis – For his many contributions to our understanding of the workings of the hearing mechanism; for his versatile concern with bioacoustics, psychoacoustics, audiology, physiology, and otolaryngology; and for his service to the Society.

1992 – Ira J. Hirsh – For contributions to the understanding of the auditory process.

1994 – David M. Green – For contributions to knowledge, theory, and methodology in audition.

2014 – Brian C. J. Moore – For leadership in research on human hearing and its clinical applications.

2017 – William M. Hartmann – For contributions to research and education in psychological acoustics and service to the society.

2018 – William A. Yost – For research on binaural hearing, pitch and modulation perception and for service to the acoustics community

R. Bruce Lindsay Award

The R. Bruce Lindsay Award, formerly called the Biennial Award, is presented in the Spring to a member of the Society who is under 35 years of age on 1 January of the year of the Award and who, during a period of two or more years immediately preceding the award, has been active in the affairs of the Society and has contributed substantially, through published papers, to the advancement of theoretical or applied acoustics, or both. The award was presented biennially until 1986. It is now an annual award and consists of $3000, and a complete set of the The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

1950 – J. C. R. Licklider

1966 – David M. Green – In recognition of his many contributions to the body of knowledge of psychological acoustics, stressing the importance of the analytic model in understanding the basic processes of audition; with particular recognition of his major role in demonstrating the relationships between detection theory and auditory perception.

1994 – Robert P. Carlyon – For contributions to knowledge concerning the auditory processing of spectrally and temporally complex sound.

2001 – Andrew J. Oxenham – For contributions to the measurement of peripheral auditory nonlinearity, and to understanding its effects in normal and hearing-impaired listeners.

2014 – Matthew J. Goupell – For contributions to the understanding of binaural processes in acoustic and electrical hearing.

Technical Area Awards

The Technical Area Awards related to Psychological and Physiological Acoustics include the the Silver Medal, the Helmholtz-Rayleigh Interdisciplinary Silver Medal, and the von Békésy Medal. Each Technical Committee may nominate candidates for the Silver Medal. Two or more Technical Committees may nominate candidates for the Helmholtz-Rayleigh Interdisciplinary Silver Medal.

Silver Medal in Psychological and Physiological Acoustics

1977 – Lloyd A. Jeffress – For extensive contributions in psychoacoustics, particularly binaural hearing, and for the example he has set as a teacher and scholar.

1981 – Ernest Glen Wever – For establishing the field of cochlear electrophysiology and advancing knowledge of middle and inner ear function.

1987 – Eberhard Zwicker – For prolific contributions to the understanding of fundamental auditory properties and for environmental, technological and clinical applications.

1990 – David M. Green – For outstanding experimental and theoretical contributions to hearing research and its methodology.

2001 – William M. Hartman – For research and education in psychological and physiological acoustics, architectural acoustics, musical acoustics, and signal processing.

2017 – Blake S. Wilson – For contributions to the development and adoption of cochlear implants

William and Christine Hartmann Prize in Auditory Neuroscience

The William and Christine Hartmann Prize in Auditory Neuroscience was established in 2011 through a generous donation by Bill and Chris Hartmann to the Acoustical Society of America to recognize and honor research that links auditory physiology with auditory perception or behavior in humans or other animals. The first prize was awarded at the Spring meeting of the Acoustical Society of America in Montreal (2-7 June, 2013).